Please note that the information provided on this page is applicable to students who are resident in England. Student support arrangements vary for students who are resident in other areas of the UK. The relevant sources of information are as follows:
If you are a student from another EU country and meet certain criteria, you will be eligible for a loan to cover the cost of your tuition. Generally you will not be entitled to support for living costs.
A tuition fee loan is a loan from the government to cover the cost of your higher education tuition fees. It is available for all UK and EU students to apply for when studying for their first degree. This means that you don’t have to find the money to pay for your fees before or while you are studying.
Student Finance England will pay the money to cover the cost of your tuition fees directly to the University on your behalf. You will start to pay back the loan after you graduate and only once you are earning in excess of £21,000 per year.
It is not compulsory to take a student loan for fees and you can choose to pay your fees in full up front if you prefer.
Under the terms of the Manchester Bursary scheme, low-income students will have the option of taking a discount to cover some of the costs of their tuition. Students expecting to qualify for a fee discount should still apply for the full tuition fee loan from Student Finance England. The University will notify Student Finance England of any fee discount once it has been applied and the loan amount will be adjusted accordingly.
These are loans to help you with the other costs associated with going to university, eg accommodation, food, travel and course materials. The amount you are entitled to will depend on the level of your household income, where you live and how much non-repayable grant (previously called the maintenance grant) you are entitled to.
The maximum amounts you can get per year are:
For 2012 entry, students who are resident in England can qualify for a non-repayable grant of up to £3,250. You do not need to pay back this grant.
A full non-repayable grant of £3,250 per year will be available if you are an eligible full-time student with a household income of £25,000 or less. Partial non-repayable grants will be available for students with a household income of over £25,000 up to and including £42,600.
| Household income | Non-repayable financial help |
Loan for living costs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 or less | £3,250 | £3,875 |
£7,125 |
| £30,000 | £2,341 | £4,330 | £6,671 |
| £35,000 | £1,432 | £4,784 |
£6,216 |
| £40,000 | £523 | £5,239 | £5,762 |
| £45,000 | 0 | £5,288 | £5,288 |
| £50,000 | 0 | £4,788 | £4,788 |
| £55,000 | 0 | £4,288 | £4,288 |
| £60,000 | 0 | £3,788 | £3,788 |
| Over £62,500 | 0 | £3,575 | £3,575 |
Students who are resident in England should submit their application for tuition fee loans, loans for living costs and non-repayable financial help via the Student Finance section of the DirectGov website. The site is now open for applications for 2012 entry. You don’t have to wait until you have been formally offered a place before you apply.
In order to guarantee that your financial support is in place for the start of term you should submit your application by 31 May 2012.
The living cost loan and any non-repayable financial help that you are entitled to will be paid directly into your bank or building society account in three instalments – usually one at the start of each term.
Students who are resident in other areas of the UK can apply via the links provided at the top of this page.
The National Scholarship Programme is a scheme that is being introduced in 2012 to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds to go to university. Scholarships will be worth at least £3,000 and will be for the first year of study only. They will be given to students in the form of tuition discounts and other benefits.
If you are a full-time student with specific needs such as a disability, a specific learning difficulty or you have children or adult dependents, you may be entitled to additional financial support.
Students following courses allied to the professional health services may be able to qualify for assistance with tuition fees and living costs from the NHS Business Services Authority. This would partially replace the standard package of student support.
After you graduate your tuition fee loan and your loan for living costs will be combined together into one sum. You don’t have to start paying anything back until the April after you have finished your course and only when you have started earning over £21,000 per year.
The amount you pay back is 9% of your income above £21,000. So, for example, if your salary was £25,000, the 9% would only be applied to £4,000, meaning you would repay £30 per month.
The following table shows a range of salaries and typical repayment rates:
| Salary | Amount of salary from which 9% will be deducted | Monthly repayment |
|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £4,000 |
£30 |
| £30,000 | £9,000 | £67.50 |
| £35,000 | £14,000 | £105 |
| £40,000 | £19,000 | £142.50 |
| £45,000 | £24,000 | £180 |
| £50,000 | £29,000 |
£217.50 |
| £55,000 | £34,000 | £255 |
| £60,000 | £39,000 | £292.50 |
If your salary drops below £21,000 at any point, you cease to repay your loan until you earn above this amount again.
Repayments will usually be made automatically through the tax system. Any outstanding amount will be written off after 30 years.
For full-time students interest is charged at the Retail Price Index rate of inflation plus 3%. This applies from the date you take out your loan until the April after you’ve finished studying.
From the April after you've finished studying you will be charged:
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has advised the government that a student loan is very unlikely to impact materially on an individual’s ability to get a mortgage, although the amount of mortgage available to you may depend on your net income.
Whether student loan repayments affect your ability to take out other loans would be a decision for the loan provider, but student loan information will not be shared with credit reference agencies by Student Finance England.
As a general rule, students who have previously completed an undergraduate degree will not be able to qualify for government support for a second undergraduate degree. Students who have previously studied on a full-time degree programme but not achieved a qualification may find that the number of years of funding available to them will be reduced in accordance with the number of years of previous study.
Arrangements are different for degree holders undertaking a second undergraduate degree in Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Architecture, Social Work and courses that attract an NHS bursary. These students may qualify for the maintenance element of the loan but will not qualify for a maintenance grant or tuition fee loan.
If you are considering an application for a second undergraduate degree, we strongly recommend that you contact the relevant funding body to seek clarification of your entitlement.
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